Williams College

Honors & Awards

Fall All-Academic Selections Announced

Nov 21, 2012

Honor Recognizes Positive Contributions to Sport Within
Conference

HADLEY, Mass. – A total of 638
student-athletes have been named to the 2012 NESCAC Fall
All-Academic Team by the conference office today. To be honored, an
individual must have reached sophomore academic standing and be a
varsity letter winner with a cumulative grade point average of at
least 3.35. A transfer student must have completed one year of
study at the institution.

Of the 638 student-athletes named to the team, 180 were honored
for the second time in their career, while 124 were recognized for
the third time. In addition, 58 members of the group garnered both
All-Academic and All-Conference accolades this fall, led by 11
student-athletes from Amherst and 10 from Middlebury. A total of 48
individuals were named to both the All-Sportsmanship and
All-Academic Teams by the conference.

Five individuals were selected to all three squads. That elite
group included junior Emily Attwood of
Middlebury (cross country), sophomore William
Burchill of Trinity (golf), senior Julia
Mark of Wesleyan (cross country), sophomore
Jake Goldenring of Williams (golf) and senior
Matt Ratjczak of Williams (men’s
soccer).

The 2012 Fall All-Academic Team includes six NESCAC Players of the
Year and a pair of two-time All-Americans.

Senior Keri Lambert had an impressive end to
her career with the Amherst cross country team. After taking home
top honors at the James Early Invitational, she won the Little
Three Championship by nearly 50 seconds. Two weeks later, she
finished 47 seconds ahead of the field at the NESCAC Championship.
In the process, she shattered the Bowdoin course record (20:33.45)
and earned NESCAC Performer of the Year accolades. Lambert went on
to win the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship
(20:48.94) to help the Lord Jeffs secure their twelfth consecutive
trip to the National Championship. She finished third overall
(21:13.0) at the national meet to secure All-America honors for the
second year in a row.

Field hockey standout Lauren Greer capped
off her brilliant career with another productive season for
Middlebury. The captain finished the year as the national leader in
goals (38) and points (90) and set school and conference records in
both categories. No stranger to postseason accolades, Greer earned
NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year honors for the second year in a
row. The 2009 Rookie of the Year garnered All-NESCAC honors for the
fourth time with her third straight appointment to the First Team.
Over the course of her career, she amassed 267 points on 111 goals
and 45 assists. Her 3.56 points per game are the most in NCAA
history. For the second year in a row, Greer was named NFHCA New
England West Region Player of the Year and earned First Team
All-America honors.

Bowdoin’s Brooke Phinney earned NESCAC
Field Hockey Defensive Player of the Year honors after an
impressive senior season. The veteran spearheaded a defensive unit
that surrendered just 16 goals in 20 games. A two-time All-NESCAC
selection, Phinney was named to the First Team this fall after
earning Second Team honors in 2011. Though the majority of her work
was done at the defensive end of the field, she also proved to be a
dangerous offensive weapon for the Polar Bears. The year, she
scored 13 goals and added nine assists en route to earning NFHCA
First Team All-America honors.

Senior Caitlin Barrett led the Middlebury
volleyball team to its second NESCAC title in three years. The
libero was named NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year after piling
up a league-best 5.01 digs per set. A Second Team selection a year
ago, she earned First Team All-Conference honors in 2012. Barrett
boasted a .949 reception percentage, with just 25 errors on 489
attempts throughout the NESCAC Championship. The senior earned
Honorable Mention All-America honors from the AVCA for the second
straight season.

After leading his team to a first place finish at the NESCAC Golf
Qualifier this fall, Trinity’s Greg
Palmer was named NESCAC Player of the Year. The
sophomore earned medalist honors at the event with a two-day score
of 147. He finished day one tied with four others in fifth place
(76) before firing a tournament-best 71 (-1) in the second round.
Palmer competed in every tournament for the Bantams, finishing his
breakout season with a 76.8 scoring average. He owned the teams
only subpar round (NESCAC Qualifier) and recorded an
11th place individual finish at the Connecticut Cup.
Laura Kurash became the first women’s soccer
player in Wesleyan history to earn NESCAC Player of the Year honors
after leading the league with nine goals in her senior campaign.
Kurash accounted for three game-winners and also scored in her
team’s shocking 2-0 victory over top seeded Middlebury in the
quarterfinal round of the NESCAC Championship. Kurash was named to
the All-NESCAC First Team for the third consecutive season after
earning Second Team and Rookie of the Year honors in 2009.

Founded in 1971, the New England Small College Athletic Conference
(NESCAC) consists of 11 liberal arts colleges and has consistently
reflected its commitment to the values of athletics and academic
achievement. The member colleges of the conference are Amherst
College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Connecticut
College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, Trinity College,
Tufts University, Wesleyan University, and Williams College.